Day in the life of our athletes

By Jordan Outlaw Sports Editor 

All-Conference football players Kaliq Wood and Joshua Hill have been putting in work on and off the field while basketball team captains Jaydon Watts and Zyheir Gardner are carrying the load on and off the court.

Zyheir Gardner looks for the open man in a game last season. Stock Photo from the Warrior Times.

“Academics is more important than football because without working hard in class, you can’t play football. My love for the sport is definitely stronger than my love for  school, but I do what I have to do to stay on the field,” Kaliq Wood said

 Student-athletes constantly come across challenges in and out of the classroom.  Finding time to study and do homework during the season isn’t a struggle for basketball players Jaydon Watts and Zyheir Gardner. 

 “It's easier for me to get work done during the season because that’s when colleges are most tuned in. The grades have to be there to get scholarships and to stay eligible to play,” Gardner said. 

“After waking up and going to school, I have about an hour until practice so that I can do work until then. We also got out of practice earlier than last year. I'm free after 5:45, so I can do whatever other work I need to do until around 9,” Watts said.

Spanish teacher Mrs. Gonzalez spoke about how she felt about her student-athletes and how they perform in her classroom.

“I feel like my student-athletes perform in the classroom depending on what's going on in their sport. If they haven’t been playing well, they might not be as engaged in class due to feeling down about it, but most of my students keep their heads high,” Mrs. Gonzalez said. 

Wood, Watts, and Gardner all agree there are days when they feel like giving up because times get hard for them. 

“When you have games, there's no time for homework before and after depending on the time management,” Hill said.

They all try to give themselves at least one day a week off to relax, except for Zyheir. 

“I usually get more days to relax since I don’t get a lot of homework. Most of my work is already done in class, so other than practice, I’m home relaxing and resting.”

“ The work isn’t necessarily hard; it is a lot at times, but I'm motivated by my desire to get to the next level,” Hill said. 

Hill then said that he maintains a busy schedule and how he is able to keep a routine during football season.

“I wake up and lift at about 4 a.m., get to school around 7, and I'm locked in on work from there. After school, I do homework assignments and wait to study till after practice. It helps me remember it when I'm winding down and just taking in what I read,” Hill said. 

The boys have all maintained honor roll throughout high school and succeeded in their selective sports.